Bragg grid characterizers in optical fiber

• Grant number: 97/07455-9
• Support type: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Duration: January 01, 1998 - December 31, 2004
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Electrical, Magnetic and Electronic Measurements, Instrumentation
• Principal researcher: Sérgio Barcelos
• Grantee: Sérgio Barcelos
• Company: Fiberwork Comunicações Ópticas Ltda
• City: Campinas
• Associated scholarship(s): 99/11697-3 - Fiber Bragg grating characterization system FBGTI, BP.TT

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to develop a commercial prototype of a high-resolution instrument for characterizing optical fiber devices. It provides measurements of phase dispersal and the delay time in narrow- and broadband optical elements, with particular interest for Bragg grids in optical fibers. The equipment is based on an original interferometric technique, insensitive to polarization, and uses an adjustable, high-resolution, wavelength laser, together with a fully automated system for capturing data. It is able to measure delay time and dispersal with accuracy greater than 0.5 ps and 1 ps/nm, respectively, and with a wavelength resolution of better than 1 nm. There is no commercially available equipment that can take these measurements. Its closest competitor is laboratory-assembled and based on the method of shifting the RF signal phase, which however, costs a great deal to set up and provides less accuracy than the proposed equipment. It is expected that there will be an enormous market potential, because of the growing importance of Bragg grids in fiber optics. (AU)